Scenes

 Nine years.

 First touch-up since February. Blonde(r) hair, don't care.

 Lunch planning. (Pyrex for the win.)

 

Kiddo's new cactus shelf built by yours truly. (Now I have room for more, Mom!)

Watering schedule established.

Working some color into my uniform. (515 by New Balance)

 

Dream houses. (Been dreaming of our dream house a lot lately.)

Costco made me buy them. 

 (Container) garden. (First crop!)

Six hours at the dentist meant finally finishing this book. (Read it.)

Am I the oldest person alive still wearing an orthodontic retainer at night? (Until last week, I'd been wearing the glow-in-the-dark wire retainer I got when I had my braces removed 19 years ago.)

Work day breakfast.

 Day off breakfast.

It's a rough life.

Also:

These sandals (on order),
one pair of flip-flops,
and my classic Birks are all the warm weather footwear I now own.
(Others didn't make the cut.)

Marriage in real life.
(Celebrating 9 years + 2 months sans family has been cause for reflection.)

Not just for the elderly.
(10-hour shifts have been killing my feet. These have helped so much.)

The floral tonic to end all floral tonics.
(My face glows.)

The best cat toys we've ever purchased.
(Watching Vista play with them is more entertaining than Prime Time.)

Scenes

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

You're always you,

and that don't change,

and you're always changing,

and there's nothing you can do about it.

Neil Gaiman, The Graveyard Book 

I had this whole melancholy post chronicling my recent bout of blogging ennui planned for today. But then today is a new day, as all days are, and I feel differently. There is no point in waxing poetic about those posts imagined at the most inopportune times; times when my hands are in a sink full of soapy water and dirty dishes. I can write and rewrite entire posts, inspired posts, in those quiet moments. Times when my conscious mind is occupied by the mundane and my thoughts are free to flow. Unfortunately, those things that were thunk don't tend to loiter, and I'm left with just an outline when I finally sit down to write them out. Exact words, so brilliantly thought, I think, are lost. Perhaps I could record my words and transcribe them later, but I'm not sure they can be translated in the same spirit they were spoken. You know what I mean?

Last night, desperate to write something meaningful, I sat in front of my computer for two solid hours. Forcing the writing process is the kiss of death for creativity, as four years of writing formal lab reports demonstrated, but I was both determined and fearful that my mojo may be permanently on hiatus. I thought about making it a goal to write a post every day for the next 30 days, then decided I was just setting myself up to fail horribly. Instead, I tweaked my blog's exterior. New fonts, new header, re-orientation of the date...I spent that chunk of time streamlining its appearance. No fluff, just simple and modern. And I feel better. I chalk that up to change. I've experienced a lot of little evolutions in the relatively short time I have blogged, and the aesthetic of the page where I lay my words is no exception. Sometimes a haircut can help you rediscover that bounce in your step, no? My hope is that by setting aside the design that inspired me a year ago, I can set forth from this day with a fresh relationship with this platform. That I can write with the same voice, but coming from where I am in this world now.

This has been a weird week full of coincidences. Or signs. The jury is still out on my belief in signs, and how best to interpret them; but sometimes, when grouped into a short span, they seem like a signal sent from the ether. 

On Tuesday I took my car in for a state inspection and oil change. I left it at a place in the heart of downtown so I could spend the morning camped out at my local coffee shop. About 45 minutes later, as I was just getting into the proper head space, I got a call from the shop saying my tires failed inspection. Four new tires, a serpentine belt, an alignment, an inspection, and an oil change later, my car was ready. The price? $666. I'm an agnostic when it comes to believing bad omens as well, but what are the odds? Then twice that same day someone walked up to me and said they knew me. But they didn't, actually, and couldn't explain why they thought they did. Each encounter was odd and slightly uncomfortable. This morning I grabbed a quick breakfast at a local diner before meeting a friend for coffee. The cost for my huevos rancheros and cranberry juice? $8.88. Did I mention I keep finding dimes on the ground? Dimes everywhere. Enough of them that my parking meter fund has grown with some significance.

I'm buying a lotto ticket today. Because something is in the air. It's also Thursday and Thursdays have been kind to us the past month. We found our new home and Kiddo's new school on a Thursday. We got the house and Kiddo's magnet program acceptance letter last Thursday. What will today bring? Tough telling. But it is a new day, after all.

I have also decided to become a more optimistic person. A more cheerful person. A person who sees the joy in the everyday moments we often observe fleetingly; the moments that get buried too quickly when the undesirable occurs. Without realizing it, I had already joined the 100 Happy Days movement unofficially. I was posting photos on Instagram that struck my fancy with some frequency, but I decided to make it a goal and signed up. I read an article asserting the impossibility of this project, as no one could possibly find something that makes them happy every single day for over 3 months. I say why not? I saw a blossom on a tree yesterday morning that brightened my spirits. I picked up four dimes just walking to and from my car today. They are there if we want to find them. I do. Such a thing is so unlike me at first glance, but my continual aspiration is to step out of my comfort zone and improve my outlook. What do I have to lose? We have a lot going on in our lives, sometimes too much, I think, and I don't want the stress that comes with colossal life changes to overshadow the really rad things happening 'round these parts.

I took these pictures in our friends' beautiful backyard in Vancouver, Washington. It took Mario and I a whole afternoon to put our finger on what was so different. Color. There was color all around us. We haven't seen natural color in almost 8 months. All of these were shot in manual...and I haven't done a lick of editing. No filters. Pinky swear. If the color saturation isn't enough to convince me to stay away from auto, I don't know what is.

You're always you,

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Filter me this.

This lighthearted glimpse into life lately through the eyes of my Instagram feed was intended for yesterday. Then I veered off in a whole other direction. It got deep, yo. Not today. There is a sweater-clad feline, a kid with turtle hands, and a man in hot water. Boy do I love Instagram. Now if only I could filter all of life's moments...

Shall we start with this dude? He puts up with my obsessions and emotional hangups and overall persnickety-ness. He hugs me when I need it (even if I don't know I need it) and (mostly) knows when to give me space. He introduces me to the Five Guys hot dog. With pickles, of course. Speaking of pickles, this stud can stew in the hot tub for hours. I'd pass out. He's a professional. 

This weekend he resumes his usual travel schedule. Having him home has been tremendous. We've been able to explore our relationship, experience a life where he's home for dinner almost every night, and overall feel normal. Whatever that is. As much as I'll miss his face, Kiddo and I have a rhythm when he's gone. I'm happy to let it go so I can soak up his manliness, but if I'm honest, I need a regular bedtime. Especially during finals. I want to stay up and watch crime dramas with him... at the expense of a reasonable bedtime. I've been running on fumes the last couple days and, if I'm honest (again), look forward to regaining that rhythm. With a husband that travels as much as he does, as long as he has, we have never really established a routine when he's home.

After my class is wrapped up and his year-end meetings come to a close, we can look forward to Christmas vacation. I can watch Breaking Bad with abandon and stop worrying about sleep like an old lady.

Every once in a while babes are everywhere and I start thinking about my status as the mother of an only child. Having had my son in my early twenties, I'm ready for life to be more about me. To worry less about childcare and homework. To gain the freedom to live on my own terms. But I have moments where I wonder if I'll regret not having another child. Baby Ben visited our house for Thanksgiving and a friend is fostering kittens. Bebes! Sweet bebes! In the end I'm going with my gut, which says I'm following the right path. But boy do I have doubts some days. Then I hear a child having a total and complete meltdown at Target and feel at peace with my decision.

My main man right here. For Thanksgiving he whipped up a duct tape bowtie and coasters for the whole table. A tie and a bowtie? Fancy pants. Did I mention he is currently in the throes of a bonafide Dr. Who obsession? When he gets infatuated with something, he becomes a walking encyclopedia on the subject. This is no exception.

Kiddo and I went to our first Farm Fest at Stonewall Farm, a nonprofit community farm. Local vendors and farmers sold their wares. We visited and fed the lovely animals. Such a fun night with a boy I can't get enough of. 

My furry boyfriend, Vista, has been a naughty little kitty lately. We put up the tree on Sunday night, and after being thrown out of our room at 4a because of his shenanigans, proceeded to remove a bell ornament and play soccer on the wood floors with it until we got up yet again to take it away. I swear he was a human in a past life. If I'm honest, we may be partially to blame for his temperament. Worried that he'd be cold wearing only Ugg boots, I bought him a sweater. See the stink-eye I got after putting it on him? Then there was the time Kiddo put glasses on him while I took pictures. (Note Kiddo's Ninja Turtle-looking fingers in the photo. This led to wild googling and the realization that the Ninja Turtles were Trachemys scripta elegans, the Red-eared slider turtle. He doesn't have Ninja Turtle fingers, is my point. I think.)

I've blogged two days in a row thanks to my saving grace: coffee. I really am trying to cut back, but as told above, I'm tired. I'm trying to write through my writer's block, which always seems to help.

Would you believe I bought two papers and spent eleven bones but didn't find even one article pertaining to biochemistry? Whaaat? I guess I'll have to look for extra credit material elsewhere. Still, I love reading the Sunday paper. There's a great ritual to it. 

I'm obsessed with leg warmers and long comfy socks. This was the day after Thanksgiving. We had just finished at CrossFit and it was cold and rainy. I wore my Bogs and the softest socks my toesies have ever experienced. I'm going back for more. One pair is simply not enough. Oh, and these legwarmers are on their way. I love throwing them on over my workout pants before I brave the cold. 

Nose back to the grindstone, my friends. It may be a little quiet again over the coming week, but I look forward to more free time once I get through finals. I have Christmas ornaments to make, baking to do, and of course, more CrossFit. I have a goal up on the board... I want to be able to do a strict pullup by the end of the month. I'm also going to aim for 4-5 workouts a week after next week. 

Happy day!

Filter me this.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

My iPhone was also in Oregon and Montana

Howdy! I'm back with part two of what my iPhone has been up to for the last four weeks. My Eye-Fi is currently downloading all the pictures from my camera. It has been going for hours... any tips on speeding up your Eye-Fi downloads? Anyway, I look forward to posting some of the photos from specific places we visited. There were so many cool things to see and do.

This post is more of a hodge podge. Glimpses into what we encountered in various places. Here goes...

This first set was taken in the Vancouver-Portland area. 1// Portland's Rose Test Garden. More roses than one could ever imagine and a beautiful view of the city below. Divine.  2// Fruit Loops on froyo. Why am I just now trying this?  3// My new friend Lucy. She has a funny little personality and the sweetest face.  4// Our friend took us to a place called McMenamins-Edgfield. It is so hard to describe. It's an old estate that has been converted into a winery, restaurant, bars, inn... the list goes on. There was even a hobbit hole with a bar in it. The art inside the buildings is funky and amazing. I could move there just to visit this place. This was my favorite piece of art... I waaaant it.

We really love Bozeman. For being a relatively small town, there are a million things to do and see. 1// Kiddo at the new park. It's huge! Jared and our niece spent hours there one afternoon.  2// Italian ice on Main Street. These cousins are so great together. Despite the age difference, they play together seamlessly and never seem to be at odds.  3// The view from my sister-in-law's house. Are you kidding me? We stayed with her several times and each morning I would tiptoe out of bed and enjoy my coffee and the view before the kiddos woke up.  4// Even the trash cans are awesome.

1// I've never met a tree this kid didn't want to climb. Bozeman is full of good climbing trees.  2// Only in Montana do you get a bottle of ranch on the table with the other condiments. Good, homemade diner ranch. Montanans dip everything in ranch... Mario and I actually had a discussion about whether Montana uses the most ranch per capita every year.  3// So much luggage. We were suffering from a serious case of excess baggage on the way home. This is what work, play, and a week at camp looks like. And having a husband who is a serious over-packer.  4// Jared's newest obsession: the jackalope. He knows they are not actual animals, but he wanted one so bad. He begged. He pleaded. We didn't want to pay $100 for a fictional antlered rabbit taxidermy, but promised to keep our eyes open for one. 5// You really can do CrossFit moves anywhere. Even if the other moms at the park look at you like you're crazy.  6// Oh, the pink sunsets. Dreamy.  7// You are never too old for sidewalk chalk. I love that kid.

1// My frizzy, finicky hair loved the dry climate and behaved like I was bribing it with packets of Pop Rocks. I am now looking back on that fondly between wild strands of pouf.  2// Post-manicure ice cream with my niece. Baskin Robbins had an ice tea sorbet that was surprisingly yum.  3// Vacation calls for sparkly teenybopper nails, right? I thought so. Please disregard the abysmal state of my man hands.  4// My sister-in-law's pup Blaze. He would lay in my lap while I enjoyed my morning joe. What a buddy.  5// Do you remember those huge jawbreakers? When I was growing up in the 90s they were all the rage. Kids would keep them in baggies and lick them for weeks. Now I realize how unsanitary that is. They must have been little bacterial cesspools. Ah, to be a kid again. 6// Teenybopper nails call for teenybopper toes. Boy did I shimmer.  7// A "pucker sucker". Never heard of it? Neither had we. They were selling them at an art festival and they were nothing more than a peppermint stick candy in a lemon. It was surprisingly good. Interesting, but good.

1// Mario's parents have a house and three cabins on Flathead Lake in northwest Montana. The boys and I always stay in this little cutie while we are up there. I'm pretty sure I could live in it.  2// A martini on the lake. At sunset, of course.  3// More lakeside sunset.  4// If there was any confusion over our location... cowboy boots. Of every shape and color. We were definitely out west.  5// Montana really is Big Sky Country. There is a complete 360 degree view of the horizon. It's really amazing. After living in other places for the past 9 years, I can appreciate the views so much more.

That's all she wrote from the iPhone front. As the photos from my camera pop up one by one in the corner of my screen, I grow more excited to share more of our travels. Especially my new favorite town in the whole world.

Until then, my friends...

My iPhone was also in Oregon and Montana

Thursday, August 8, 2013

DIY Confetti Art and a Room in Progress

Now that our room is a lovely blank canvas, I have spent the last week thinking about accessorizing it. We have a lot of art/photography we picked up over the years, gifts, Etsy finds, and family photos, of course. We may have more art than we do wall space, which is why many pieces have gone unframed and sit nestled in a basement tote. Needless to say, we have always had unintentional gallery walls.

 I have pieces like the one above that I'm fond of, but don't really fit my room anymore. It is actually printed on cardboard...but I still think it's charming. I'm trying to figure out what to do with the ones I can't bear to part with. Store them and hope my next house will have just the place?

Since I have decided to make our surroundings more 'intentional', I'm buying new frames (as good deals come up), sorting through old ones (spray paint makeover or Salvation Army?), and spending time researching the best way to hang a 'real' gallery wall. Butcher paper...brilliant!

I found a couple of my favorite quotes on Etsy and some freebies online. Printables are awesome! They are much less expensive than prints (or free), and I simply get them printed for a buck or less. Super inexpensive and convenient. Snapfish has become my new BFF. I just upload the images, choose the size and finish (matte all the way), and few days later...vuala!  Lovely, eclectic art.

 

I also had some sweet Instagram photos of Kiddo printed. I was a little afraid that they'd be pixel-y, but they came out crystal clear...even in 8x10. 

The last thing I needed was more art, but perusing blogs and Pinterest often leads to a bit of inspiration (or a lot). It can't be helped. I first saw this fun, simple project on the blog Framed Frosting. You can see her post here. The original DIY confetti art project comes courtesy of the blog Mint Love Social Club, and you can find it here. Bloggers are the bestest.

Can I take a moment to tell you how inexpensive this project was? Michaels was having a BOGO sale on two-packs of 12x12 canvases, so I scored 4 for $8. I'm sure I will find a use for the extras. They were also having a BOGO sale on glitter scrapbook paper...so I scored them for $1 each. I already had a 1" circle punch among my craft supplies.

I simply punched out the circles, randomly arranged them on the canvas (I started at the bottom left corner and spread them diagonally from there), and glued away. The original project called for spray adhesive, but I didn't have any luck with that. My dots didn't stick well and the canvas is tacky and a magnet for fuzz, dog hair, and glitter specks (I'm redoing that one). With the second canvas, I arranged the dots then used a dab of tacky glue to adhere each one individually. It didn't take much longer and I really like the results. Also, glitter paper is stiff, so I cut a couple of the circles and placed them on the edge of the canvas rather than wrapping them around the edge like she did.

I am looking forward to mixing these in with the rest of my white-framed art on this wall in my room. They add a pop of color and a little something different to the mix. The blue and silver is a little more formal looking, while the green and gold is very whimsical. I love that. If you try this, I'd love to see it!

 

I have a feeling this wall decor project is going to take a while to complete. Gathering and arranging all the pieces and frames is a work in progress. I want it to be just right, so it's worth living with bare walls for a bit longer. I read a great post about the process on Young House Love.

DIY Confetti Art and a Room in Progress

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Beadhead, Bubbly, and Changing Luck

The world hasn't ended, so it's safe to spend time posting about the minutia in my life. I guess it's time to start paying my bills again.

Since I've been a lazy little blogger, I'm catching you up to speed in nine pictures...thanks to the wonder that is Instagram. Little else can make my nonsense look so, well, vintage.

1. No more of this for 5 weeks. Five. Whole. Weeks. Except for that pesky independent study paper I agreed to write. I'm currently attempting to ignore it. 2. Mr. Vista woke up from a rather long nap with bedhead and a "What just happened to me?" expression. Welcome to my world, Little Man. 3. Cheers to a professor that celebrates the last day of class with bubbly. I hadn't eaten breakfast yet, so I had a respectable buzz going on. At 10a. Don't judge. 4. I'm not a huge fan of chain restaurants like Olive Garden, but I wouldn't kick their new Moscato Peach Chicken out of bed for eating crackers. 5. I won a giveaway! I never win anything. One time my email address accidentally got sent out as the  winner of a giveaway I was participating in and people thought I'd won for a hot minute. That's was as close as it got until now. Look at my cute little cozy from Luisa! It was tough to pick just one. She was so sweet...you can check out her lovely creations here. Love. It. Is this a sign I should start buying lotto tickets?

1. A certain young man left his mark on my frosty car. It was quite darling, actually. Until the ice melts and I have a sticky jam-hand mark on my windshield. 2. Tomfoolery at the dollar store. By the way, how am I just discovering dollar stores? There's some good stuff there! 3. After Jared got out of the car I looked down and saw this. Only my kid. Peace. 4. Our dog apparently hasn't heard of the naughty list. He's on it. For. Sure.

Beadhead, Bubbly, and Changing Luck

Friday, December 21, 2012

Holiday Decor, Sticky Cleavage, and a Cat that Reads

How about a little Instagram goodness? I got a lot of unimportant things done today, zero homework, and still managed not to write a post until now. I'm such a slacker.

Today was rather chill. Literally. When out to lunch with my husband, he gestured wildly and knocked a huge plastic diner cup full of Coke down my shirt. His aim couldn't have been better. I sat there cold and drenched while we finished our lunch. At least it was diet...calories and all. Who knew bras were so absorbent? 

The holidays exploded all over this household. Tree? Decorated. Television? Even more entertaining. Kiddo's room? Lit up. Even the spaceship kite above his bed got in on the action. To top it off? A lovely dusting of snow. Our dog posed for this picture like the consummate professional he is. 

I also learned a couple things over the last week: we are going to need a bigger tree to accommodate the exorbitant amount of ornaments we own. Which means we need a new house to accommodate said tree. I probably should have held back on buying First Time on the Potty, First Time Spelling My Name, I Can Put on My Own Socks, and I Pet the Kitty ornaments. And that is just my husband. Ba dum tish. Also, we are acquiring quite the collection of I Love You Post-its around our TV. It's because we are lazy they are too sweet to throw away.

Kiddo soakin' it up in the hot tub. He's the little white thing among all the white. There were some serious shenanigans taking place in the checkout line at Michael's. I think that owl is giving me the stink-eye. Do they have some sort of rule that says no more than 2 employees can ring people out at a time? And they must be new hires who barely passed register training? I stepped out of my comfort zone and tried a Salted Caramel Latte from Starbucks while I studied. It was good, yo! I perked right up.We have so many pictures of Kiddo and Mister Vista reading together. Therefore, our lunacy has manifested itself as a rather odd new tradition of faking taking pictures of him enjoying a good read. I see a coffee table book in our future...

Holiday Decor, Sticky Cleavage, and a Cat that Reads

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Get Real

Nothing in this world is harder than speaking the truth, nothing easier than flattery.

Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Along with the meaning of life, I have been pondering an often observed issue in the social media circuit. That includes us lovely bloggers. I call it the I-Want-What-I-Imagine-You-Have syndrome. The green-eyed monster. Jealousy. Idol worship. Living vicariously through others. Envy. What you or I call it is irrelevant. The fact is, it's easy to get sucked into the lives of others via the rather shallow and superficial world that is social media. We've all blog-stalked. And Facebook-stalked.

"She's SO skinny!","Her life is perfect. Why doesn't anything bad ever happen to her?!", "She's more fashionable, smarter, a better writer, luckier, richer, younger, has more followers...[fill in the blank] than me." Been there? Yeah, me too.

But I've got earth-shattering news: her life isn't perfect. Nope. Sure, her problems may be different, but they're still problems. And those of us who have jumped our fair share of hurdles over the years are better adapted to life in general. We persevere. Even when our kids resemble demon spawn. And our husbands feel compelled to stink up the bathroom right before our morning shower. I own my mistakes, failures, and less-than-glamorous moments. They make me flawed. Flawed equals interesting.

While we're at it, did you ever stop to consider that she posts all that wonderfulness as a way of feeling better about her life? It's the perfect platform, really. Where else in 'real life' can we present such a skewed 1-D view of our existence? Once you think about it that way, it's easier to step back and see things for what they are.

If we all covet her, well, she feels covet-able. Everyone has that girl in their life. More than one? Bummer. Me, too. The one who posts perfect family pictures, gushes about her perfect husband, and carefully creates the illusion that she wakes up with a face full of makeup and a stylist standing by to dress her. Don't even get me started on Instagram. Or my personal favorite: the oh-so vague "FHML" Facebook post that elicits fifty "Oh no! What's wrooong?" replies. Then we are left to wonder if we were the only ones not let in on that little secret. Did she private message the other 49 and I wasn't good enough to know why she hates her life? It is high school all over again. And I don't know about you, but I'm not particularly eager to go back there.

Overcompensation is a telltale sign of deep-rooted insecurity. I, for one, need to stop falling into that ugly vortex. After a rather harsh, cold-water-in-the-face moment of realization, I am usually able to climb out of the self-shame hole and see things for what they are: imperfect. I'm imperfect. You're imperfect. And guess what? So is Miss Facebook Perfection. And Mrs. Blogging Supernova. Why, in this day in age, do we still feel the need to portray the Super Mom/Wife/Worker Bee role?

Let's all gather and fight the urge to covet that which is not real. Deep down we know it's a facade, right? But when you're feeling blah/vulnerable/messy/unmotivated/ugly/shameful/dumb/depressed/annoyed/murderous, it is incredibly easy to step through the mirror into her Wonderland. It's like modern day Sirens, luring the self-esteem compromised so that we crash head-first into a rock. 

Her sink is full of dirty dishes, too. Sometimes she wakes up looking like she's been in a dryer full of rocks.  Her kids act up and her husband leaves his underwear in his pants when he takes them off. They overspend at Christmas and take vacations they technically can't afford. The sooner we can all admit this, the better off we all shall be.

In the spirit of full disclosure, here's the honest to goodness truth:

For every one ironically cute pic I take of myself (why trying to hide my arms so that you don't know it's a self-portrait via iPhone), there are 20+ of these:

Forehead wrinkles. No makeup. No contacts. Year-round eye allergies that make me look like I've just smoked a bowl. At 8 am.

My kid doesn't have a bento box waiting for him every day. Mommy's too tired. Instead, he eats things like this on occasion. Or several occasions. That's a hot dog on an Eggo, in case you were wondering. With ketchup.

As I write this, my sink looks like this. Because I'm too lazy to empty the clean dishes from the dishwasher so I can reload it. Thanks to Instagram, my dishes look less "Crate and Barrel outlet" and more "vintage chic".

I'm not a fashion blogger because my husband doesn't have the time to take pictures of my outfits. I probably wouldn't be satisfied with them anyway. I'm chubby. And I don't want that many unflattering pictures of me out there in case I ever commit a serious crime. Or become (in)famous. Because it always looks like I'm wearing mom jeans when I take photos of myself. Because sometimes (or a lot) I buy shoes based on comfort not style. These are "snow sneakers". You can find them in the Sundance catalog if you ever want to pay an exorbitant amount of money look effortlessly homeless.

Source: thefixationfiles.weebly.com via Demi on Pinterest

You know those amazing, simple, where-have-you-been-all-my-life hair tutorials on Pinterest? They always turn out just beautifully. Pffft.

If you consider flat, limp and frizzy signs of success. And to add insult to injury, I have to go the whole day looking that way. Because who, besides the Pinterest girls, have time to shower twice in the morning? Thankfully I have my homeless shoes to pull the look together.

I made these cookies. With love. I took glamor shots of them looking all melty and delicious. Only, I forgot the sugar. They gave me a headache. And a particularly unattractive digestive upset due to an artificial sweetener in the pudding mix. That's them in the trash.

If you're thinking I'm a hot mess right about now, you wouldn't be wrong. But we've all been there, no? Hopefully not all in the same day. So let's own it.  
We will all be better for it.

Get Real

Friday, November 30, 2012